Bernard Kerik’s meteoric rise and fall is a testimony to Andy Warhol’s observation on the episodic nature of fame. It reflects a blurring of the line between entrepreneurship and exploitation, between management and abuse.

While many discussions focus on the reasons for Kerik’s withdrawal from consideration as Homeland Security secretary, the central issue is obscured: Why was he nominated in the first place, and what does this nomination reveal about the weight we give to merit in selecting leaders to provide society’s most basic requirement — public safety and security? ...